Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1) in What's the Name of That Book???

May 28, 2015 Wealhtheow rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, ya

Grace is the sensible daughter of neglectful parents. Her only real hobby is to watch the wolves in the woods near her house. Then one day, one of the wolves reveals himself to be human--or, not quite. A werewolf. Turns out the wolf pack in Mercy Falls is made of werewolves, whose changes are determined by temperature rather than the moon. Sam is only human during the summer months, and as the years go by, the amount of time he's human diminishes. This is probably his last stretch of time as a h ...more

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Jun 17, 2009 Kate rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2009, age-ya, werewolves

I've heard a LOT of buzz about this book. I had no idea what it was about, although most people were saying "great for Twilight fans," and it wasn't until I read Tamora Pierce's review that I knew I had to read it. I'm such a sucker for a good werewolf story.

Ever since Grace was bitten by a wolf when she was young, she's been obsessed with this one wolf who saved her from the ravenous pack. She loves the winter because he's always there watching her with his golden yellow eyes.

Little does Grace ...more

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Sep 11, 2009 Liz rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-star, audiobooked, young-adult, favorites, paranormal

When I first heard about Shiver, I was reluctant to give it a chance. Aside from Twilight, I haven’t read many books where werewolves are prominently featured, and I think I was dubious about that aspect of the story. However, once I started reading reviews saying that Sam was the sensitive type, I knew I had to pick this book up. I finally decided to read it when Linger came out, and I enjoyed every page of it. Shiver has quickly become one of my new favorite books.

I loved that Stiefvater did When I first heard about Shiver, I was reluctant to give it a chance. Aside from Twilight, I haven’t read many books where werewolves are prominently featured, and I think I was dubious about that aspect of the story. However, once I started reading reviews saying that Sam was the sensitive type, I knew I had to pick this book up. I finally decided to read it when Linger came out, and I enjoyed every page of it. Shiver has quickly become one of my new favorite books.

I loved that Stiefvater did a non-traditional take on the werewolves and explained it well. It felt fitting with the setting, but the way she explained the timing of the change made sense. The plot was clearly well though out, and I loved that we got to learn about the other members of Sam’s pack, instead of them just being mysterious figures in the background.

I ultimately grew to love Shiver because I grew attached to Grace and Sam and loved watching the romance romance between them. While I liked both characters, I have to admit that I found Sam particularly endearing. I liked that Grace was an environmentalist, and that she was more careful than to read things as how they seemed. Yet I loved Sam because of his connection to poetry and lyricism, as well as to his own emotions. And I still think he had is sharp, witty moments. Of course, these characters wouldn’t be who they are without Stiefvater’s beautiful, poetic prose. I could envision the snow and feel the bite of the cold even as I sat reading this book in ninety degree heat and extreme humidity. Woven together, these elements had me unable to put Shiver down and tears in my eyes during the last eighty pages.

Perhaps my favorite part of Shiver was the ending. While it wasn’t what I expected, I thought it was perfect and beautifully done, leaving me wanting to know where Stiefvater will take us next. Thankfully I have Linger right on hand, and I’ll be diving in as soon as I type the final character of this review.

I’m so glad that I read Shiver, despite a few initial reservations. This story surprised me in being far more moving than I anticipated. If you haven’t already read Shiver I highly recommend that you give it a chance. ...more

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Aug 15, 2010 Jennie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, signed-copy

Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater, is a young adult novel centered around werewolves. Stiefvater has a new take on the mythology—that is, the werewolf turns into their wolf form when the outside temperature drops below a certain level. Because cold triggers the change, a werewolf may be a wolf throughout fall, winter, and most of spring.

While I was reading the book, I felt like I was 17 again. Stiefvater does a fantastic job of describing how dizzying first love can be, while the rest of the world k Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater, is a young adult novel centered around werewolves. Stiefvater has a new take on the mythology—that is, the werewolf turns into their wolf form when the outside temperature drops below a certain level. Because cold triggers the change, a werewolf may be a wolf throughout fall, winter, and most of spring.

While I was reading the book, I felt like I was 17 again. Stiefvater does a fantastic job of describing how dizzying first love can be, while the rest of the world keeps moving on. (And of course, if you’re a teenager in a young adult supernatural novel, there’s usually some Bad Shit happening that you need to take care of.)

When I looked at Goodreads reviews to see what other people were saying, some of the most popular (and spoiler-iffic) reviews eviscerated the book for being “like Twilight, Team Jacob edition,” or “too sappy.” I strongly disagree with those particular criticisms, not the least reason being that Stiefvater’s writing style is far more lyrical and grammatically sound than Stephenie Meyer’s.

To be fair, while I have read all four Twilight books, I don’t like them. The first one was fine, but the last three went from boring to laugh-out-loud ridiculous. Yet they’re inexplicably popular, and I so often hear young women talking about “finding her Edward” or something along those lines. My response to that is, “Oh lord. Talk to me when your ex leaves roses and a creepy note in your apartment while you’re sleeping. See how Edward looks then.” (This happened to my best friend, pre-Twilight-era.)

I’m not going to re-hash what many people have already said about Shiver. I think it’s excellent. There are definitely weak points, but for the most part, I finished it and thought, “If I had a teenager, I’d rather that they read Shiver than Twilight.” Here’s why.

Potential spoilers for both Shiver and the Twilight series after the jump.

(view spoiler)

The bottom line

Those are the main comparisons I came up with, besides the whole “dreamy guy with odd-colored eyes and musical talent” hero thing. Twilight and Shiver are both tragic teenage romances that are going to appeal, mostly, to the young adult set. When it comes to my hypothetical children reading them, though, I’d want to talk to my kid about the messages in Twilight far more than anything I saw in Shiver. ...more

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Oct 16, 2013 Punk rated it did not like it

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

YA Fantasy Werewolves. I refuse to even summarize this book. It's just that bad. The world-building is slipshod, the writing is bland, the characters are flat, the romance is dull, the werewolves are boring. Having just read and loved Stiefvater's The Raven Boys, I expected a lot from this and it delivered none of it.

One star. Surprisingly terrible. The only question is: Are the sequels any better? And will I read them anyway because I have them sitting right here? Please say no.

Contains cornflo ...more

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Mar 18, 2010 Emma rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: on-kindle

Years ago, when Grace was attacked by wolves, Sam saved her. He has been a presence in Grace's life ever since always lurking on the periphery each winter in Mercy Falls, watching her, protecting her.

Even though they have never spoken.

Sam has been watching Grace for years, waiting for her, making sure she was safe. Even when he couldn't remember her name he knew she mattered. He knew he loved her even if it was impossible because of what he was.

No matter how Grace and Sam might feel about each o ...more

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Jun 18, 2010 Holly rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, supernatural-critters

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 19, 2013 Nadine in NY Jones rated it it was amazing

Shelves: stayed-up-way-too-late, young-adult, angst, werewolves, paranormal-romance, romance, paranormal, wolves, wintery-snowy

This book was AMAZING. Go! Read!

The mixed reviews (so, yeah, okay, I guess this book isn't amazing for EVERYONE ... GO AND READ WITH CAUTION) and the boring blurb had my expectations set on "barely interested." I didn't even mean to start reading it last night. But it's been in my pile of library books for a few weeks now, so I thought I'd just read the first chapter, and whoops! before I knew it, it was 12:30 and I'd read 2/3 of the book!

I remember lying in the snow, a small red spot of warm

...more

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Dec 03, 2009 Michelle rated it it was ok

Shelves: kids_and_y-a, shapeshifters

a quiet, intimate story that reads like a slower (i.e., somewhat more boring) version of 'twilight', only with werewolves instead of glittery vampires. there's no sense of tension or urgency until near the end, at which point it gets much better than the teen angst that went before. if the 2nd in the series expands off the high point, it will be well worth checking out. ...more

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Jul 11, 2018 rachelish rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, romance

The romance is compelling, but boy is it cheesy

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Sep 12, 2009 Jessie rated it it was ok

Skimmed this one. Seemed decent but I just wasn't into it. ...more

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Jul 15, 2010 Pam rated it it was ok

Shelves: audio

Maybe it was because I listened to the audio but I wasn't a huge fan of Shiver. I don't think the lovey-dovey stuff translated well into the audio. I did like the last 1/4 of the book. I look forward to the next one to see what's next... ...more

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